Metodo

International Studies in Phenomenology and Philosophy

Series | Book | Chapter

146985

How death deals with philosophy

Ben-Ami Scharfstein

pp. 201-208

Abstract

Detached as it may appear, philosophers' thought is influenced by emotions, especially fear of death, especially when it follows the death of parents when they, the children, are still young. Kant's Critiques, which devalue appearances, are affected by the character of his parents, whose uprightness, orderliness, piety, and intractable truth-telling did not prevent their hardships or spare his mother from dying when he was 13. Hume, whose mother died when he was two, conceived his Critique at about the time he underwent a prolonged depression. While Kant became increasingly fearful and hypochondriacal, Hume, believing in psychological causality, grew serene and unafraid of death.

Publication details

Published in:

Kenaan Hagi, Ferber Ilit (2011) Philosophy's moods: the affective grounds of thinking. Dordrecht, Springer.

Pages: 201-208

DOI: 10.1007/978-94-007-1503-5_14

Full citation:

Scharfstein Ben-Ami (2011) „How death deals with philosophy“, In: H. Kenaan & I. Ferber (eds.), Philosophy's moods, Dordrecht, Springer, 201–208.